The future ageing of the ethnic minority population of England and Wales

The Centre for policy on Ageing was commissioned by the Runnymede Trust to look at the likely future size and shape of the older ethnic minority population of England and Wales. This project was carried out in the first half of 2010 and using the results of recent demographic research and published statistics, made cohort component projections to 2051 for all age bands for the 16 ethnic groups used in the 2001 census.

A briefing, summarising key points from the project and the full project report are available on this website.

The minority ethnic population of England and Wales is, in general, younger than the majority White British population but that is not always the case now and will become even less true in the future. By 2051 there will be 7.4 million Black and minority ethnic residents of England and Wales aged 50 and over and 3.8 million aged 65 and over.

According to CPA's projections, the rise in the number of ethnic minority older people aged 65 and over will be particularly noticeable after 2021 and this may have significant implications for planners and policy makers